The British Have Invaded 9 of 10 Countries Worldwide

In pink on the map above are the countries which have at some point in history been invaded by Britain. Out of the nearly 200 countries currently recognized by the UK, there are only 22 which have never been invaded, according to Stuart Laycock, author of All the Countries We’ve Ever Invaded: And the Few We Never Got Round To. From the Telegraph:

Mr Laycock, who has previously published books on Roman history, began the unusual quest after being asked by his 11-year-old son, Frederick, how many countries the British had invaded.

After almost two years of research he said he was shocked by the answer. “I was absolutely staggered when I reached the total. I like to think I have a relatively good general knowledge. But there are places where it hadn’t occurred to me that these things had ever happened. It shocked me.

“Other countries could write similar books – but they would be much shorter. I don’t think anyone could match this, although the Americans had a later start and have been working hard on it in the twentieth century.”

The only other nation which has achieved anything approaching the British total, Mr Laycock said, is France – which also holds the unfortunate record for having endured the most British invasions. “I realise people may argue with some of my reasons, but it is intended to prompt debate,” he added.